Norwegian Cruise: No VAR Spotted Up and Down the Coast

Norway is regularly listed among the "happiest countries in the world." It is one of the wealthiest too, and its not a country with revolutionary fervor. It’s not France. It’s not even Germany. Yet the Video Assistant Referee, known widely as VAR, has raised Norwegians' hackles. Organized fans have mobilized enough, and in enough forms, that the country's two professional leagues recently cast a majority vote to scrap VAR  - a testimony not only to true concern about the impact of VAR on games, a concern that I share, but also to the significant improvement in the quantity and quality of Norwegian soccer fanculture. It has made considerable strides in the land of skiing and handball over the last 10, 15 years. Why, and what to look for, in Norway's stadiums?I talked to Matt Guerney from England and Anker from Norway, who run the biggest Englishspeaking social media channel on Norwegian football to find out more - about the conflict around the VAR; but also more broadly: what cities and local cultures does the 1st league include, what derbies are there and why, the rise of organized Ultra groups in the last 10,15 years. HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:Football Norway's X threads on the recent vote, the protests (fishcakes!) last season; thread on fan activities last Summer with lots of photosESPN covers the Norwegian VAR disputeA recent brief news report about the leagues' vote on foot.mundoNordic Stadiums with a list of stadiums, and a little groundhopping guideNEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup) Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, pleaseRecommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige LindInstrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/